Come for the Rides, Stay for the Hotels, Perks

Guests at Disney's Polynesian Resort and other Disney hotels will be among the first to try smart wristbands that will serve as their wireless 'ticket,' room key and virtual wallet.
Disney

By

Kelli B. Grant

Jan. 16, 2013 7:01 p.m. ET

For travelers planning a theme-park vacation, it is increasingly valuable—although not necessarily less expensive—to stay at one of the resort's hotels.

That is, a family may pay more to stay at a theme park hotel, but receive high-value, hard-to-get perks as part of a lodging package, which the major parks are increasingly offering to entice more guests to sleep inside their gates.

Hoping to make on-site hotel prices more palatable (they can run, on average, between $250 and $2,000 a night for deluxe accommodations), park operators like Disney and Universal are emphasizing exclusive benefits such as early park access and line-hopping privileges, as well as more room discounts and package deals.

Rates for hotels on theme-park properties generally run 20% to 30% higher than rooms at comparable properties off-site, according to travel-deal site Travelzoo.com.

ENLARGE

The new electronic 'MagicBand' wristbands
Disney

Visitors who stay on property are more likely to spend more money at the resort. Operators allow everything from meals to souvenirs to be charged back to the room, which makes it easier for guests to spend more money, says John Gerner, managing director of Leisure Business Advisors, an industry consulting firm in Richmond, Va. With operators generally making more profit from their lodging, restaurants and shops than from actual park operations, "these companies are very eager to find ways to maximize that part of the business," he says.

Visitors who stay at Disney resorts will be the first to take advantage of the new electronic "MagicBand" wristbands that will serve as an all-in-one wireless "ticket" to any of their pre-reserved attractions.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts announced the wristbands earlier this month as part of a new vacation management system called MyMagic+, which lets visitors make advance reservations for a broader array of experiences and attractions—including parade viewing spots and character meet-and-greets—through a new website and app called My Disney Experience.

The bands can also be used as a room key and payment option for in-park purchases. Since Walt Disney World and Disneyland resort guests already get extended park hours, the new bands heighten those advantages, says Robert Niles, founder of review site ThemeParkInsider.com. (No personal information is stored on the wristband, says a Disney spokeswoman.)

Guests who stay in on-property hotels at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, one of the nation's largest amusement parks, are allowed early access to some popular rides, including the new GateKeeper roller coaster. They are also eligible for the least expensive available ticket price of $34 instead of $55, says park spokesman Bryan Edwards. This week, Cedar Point introduced a payment plan option for guests, letting them spread out their lodging bill over four payments.

Park-goers say some of the most valuable perks, however, go to guests who stay on-site at one of the three hotels at Universal Orlando, where room rates include a line-hopping Express Pass that other visitors pay up to $89 a day to use, says Mr. Niles. In 2010, the resort began offering its guests access to the popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter area an hour before the gate opens to the general public. Since this is the most popular area of the park, where wait times for some rides can run up to several hours, that combination "completely changes the theme-park experience," he says.

ENLARGE

Cedar Point gives its property guests early access to rides.
Cedar Point

When it opens in 2014, Universal Orlando's Cabana Bay Beach Resort will offer low-price accommodations—with the trade-off that the Universal Express Pass won't be included, says spokesman Tom Schroder. Cabana Bay Beach guests' access to other benefits has yet to be determined. "As you look at the rooms that are currently available, we wanted to have more value-driven options for families," he says.

Whether travelers will find value in the various theme parks' extras, however, depends largely on the timing of their trip. During peak travel periods—particularly the summer, Christmas holiday and spring break—the extra hour of access or line-cutting privileges can mean the difference between seeing everything they want or almost nothing at a park, says Kristi Kingston, content manager for UndercoverTourist.com, an authorized reseller for tickets to Orlando's theme parks. During the school year, the advantage may be more negligible, enabling guests to shave a few minutes off a line, visit a favorite attraction multiple times or be out of bed and onto a ride in minutes.

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